April book club - open to all

[Anonymous]

Dear Edward: 6.5/10. Basic but good read.

Beekeeper of Aleppo: 9/10. A gut-wrenching but valuable read. The main characters are Syrian refugees and the book takes us through their journey to safety. Toward the end it finally dawned on me that the book centered around a deep male friendship, which was a nice change from many of the books i tend to read.

[Anonymous]

The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen: 6/10

Niksen means doing nothing. According to the book, Dutch people are very goal-focused and disdain people who do nothing. This book is a pep talk about the importance of excelling at doing nothing, so you can later excel at life. Basically become the best at niksen so you will crush it later at work/in life. If that sounds confusing, it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear Edward: 6.5/10. Basic but good read.

Beekeeper of Aleppo: 9/10. A gut-wrenching but valuable read. The main characters are Syrian refugees and the book takes us through their journey to safety. Toward the end it finally dawned on me that the book centered around a deep male friendship, which was a nice change from many of the books i tend to read.

Oh that sounds really moving and well written. Thank you. I never know where to look for non-fiction book recommendations that actually appeal to me, I've got the fiction covered ok though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen: 6/10

Niksen means doing nothing. According to the book, Dutch people are very goal-focused and disdain people who do nothing. This book is a pep talk about the importance of excelling at doing nothing, so you can later excel at life. Basically become the best at niksen so you will crush it later at work/in life. If that sounds confusing, it is.

Same deal as The Idler in the UK

[Anonymous]

Reading "It Ends with Us." At 20% - does it get better?

[Anonymous]

Just starting Birnam Wood. Really interesting premise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Edward: 6.5/10. Basic but good read.

Beekeeper of Aleppo: 9/10. A gut-wrenching but valuable read. The main characters are Syrian refugees and the book takes us through their journey to safety. Toward the end it finally dawned on me that the book centered around a deep male friendship, which was a nice change from many of the books i tend to read.

Oh that sounds really moving and well written. Thank you. I never know where to look for non-fiction book recommendations that actually appeal to me, I've got the fiction covered ok though.

It’s fiction. The author was a UNICEF (I think) volunteer who wiorked with refugees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Edward: 6.5/10. Basic but good read.

Beekeeper of Aleppo: 9/10. A gut-wrenching but valuable read. The main characters are Syrian refugees and the book takes us through their journey to safety. Toward the end it finally dawned on me that the book centered around a deep male friendship, which was a nice change from many of the books i tend to read.

Oh that sounds really moving and well written. Thank you. I never know where to look for non-fiction book recommendations that actually appeal to me, I've got the fiction covered ok though.

It’s fiction. The author was a UNICEF (I think) volunteer who wiorked with refugees.

ah ok - thanks

[Anonymous]

Very close to being done The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois. Planning to finish it tonight before bed - very long but totally engrossing. Might be my first five-star of the year on Goodread (and it's book 27 for me this year).

[Anonymous]

The Wall. It is about a middle aged woman who wakes up to find herself as probably the last human on earth; she is trapped behind a transparent wall and everyone outside the wall is dead. She is trapped with a cow. a dog and a cat. The story is sort of a survival story as she figures out how to keep herself and the animals alive, but there is commentary on the human existence and human nature. We never learn her name because she muses that her name is not important, as no one will ever use it again. It’s terribly sad but it’s also uplifting in her perseverance. I loved it but I can also see that it is not a book for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading "It Ends with Us." At 20% - does it get better?

I did not enjoy that book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Wall. It is about a middle aged woman who wakes up to find herself as probably the last human on earth; she is trapped behind a transparent wall and everyone outside the wall is dead. She is trapped with a cow. a dog and a cat. The story is sort of a survival story as she figures out how to keep herself and the animals alive, but there is commentary on the human existence and human nature. We never learn her name because she muses that her name is not important, as no one will ever use it again. It’s terribly sad but it’s also uplifting in her perseverance. I loved it but I can also see that it is not a book for everyone.

this is intriguing - who is the author, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wall. It is about a middle aged woman who wakes up to find herself as probably the last human on earth; she is trapped behind a transparent wall and everyone outside the wall is dead. She is trapped with a cow. a dog and a cat. The story is sort of a survival story as she figures out how to keep herself and the animals alive, but there is commentary on the human existence and human nature. We never learn her name because she muses that her name is not important, as no one will ever use it again. It’s terribly sad but it’s also uplifting in her perseverance. I loved it but I can also see that it is not a book for everyone.

this is intriguing - who is the author, PP?

Marlen Haushofer.
I hope you read it. It’s completely outside my usual genre but it was so thought provoking. She spends a lot of time thinking about the things that were important in her life that don’t matter at all anymore, like time and how she looks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wall. It is about a middle aged woman who wakes up to find herself as probably the last human on earth; she is trapped behind a transparent wall and everyone outside the wall is dead. She is trapped with a cow. a dog and a cat. The story is sort of a survival story as she figures out how to keep herself and the animals alive, but there is commentary on the human existence and human nature. We never learn her name because she muses that her name is not important, as no one will ever use it again. It’s terribly sad but it’s also uplifting in her perseverance. I loved it but I can also see that it is not a book for everyone.

this is intriguing - who is the author, PP?

Marlen Haushofer.
I hope you read it. It’s completely outside my usual genre but it was so thought provoking. She spends a lot of time thinking about the things that were important in her life that don’t matter at all anymore, like time and how she looks.

Thank you. I probably will read it. I just looked it up. Written in 1963 an early dystopian fiction and the author is Austrian. That's got to bring some serious baggage to the table I'd be interested in learning about. Made into a film in 2012.

[Anonymous]

I am not really doing these posts correctly - sorry! But I just don't really know what I am going to read this month yet. Here is what I read in March - using the GoodReads 1-5 ratings.

The Great Alone - 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I liked the Alaska setting but towards the very end, I was just like - oh, come on!
Demon Copperhead - 5 stars. I rarely give 5 stars - one to two books a year. This was my first 5 star read of 2023.
Nora Goes Off Script - 4 stars

I am now reading Empire of Pain. I like it but it's taking me a couple of weeks already to read it.